Global perspectives on the curricular integration of nature-based solutions in hydrology and water resources management education

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are strongly advocated in international environmental discourse and policy agendas for climate risk management. However, a critical knowledge gap remains regarding the extent to which NbS concepts are systematically integrated into higher education curricula, despite the role of universities as institutional settings for developing and disseminating knowledge relevant to NbS. In this study, we examined the degree of curricular integration of NbS within university study programs in water resources management (WRM) and hydrology at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels across 25 countries in 8 geographic regions. Data were collected through a structured survey, and curricula analysis was conducted, in which the proportion of NbS content within each course was categorized into Major (core focus), Moderate (partial coverage), Minor (peripheral inclusion), or NA (no explicit content). Our findings reveal significant regional and disciplinary contrasts. Countries with research-active disciplines, such as engineering and environmental science, and those with formal NbS policy frameworks, such as in the EU, show earlier or more extensive NbS curricular integration. Contrary to the interdisciplinary nature of NbS, we find that NbS are predominantly, yet sporadically, embedded in civil and environmental engineering and natural sciences, with minimal contributions from other disciplines, such as social sciences. Moreover, NbS concept remains insufficiently represented at the undergraduate level as 45.9% of the courses contain Minor content and 33.9% have no explicit NbS content, which represents a missed opportunity for NbS exposure during foundational professional study and training. More substantive NbS content appears in master's and doctoral programs, suggesting that NbS remains a specialized, research-oriented topic rather than foundational curriculum content. Faculty-led NbS teaching initiatives, identified through the survey, though encouraging, reveal a misalignment between high NbS research activity and their low curricular integration, where 31–41% of lecturers in courses with NA and Minor NbS integration do publish NbS-related research. Without explicit NbS framing in WRM and hydrology curricula, study programs may remain confined to specific disciplinary silos, potentially limiting students' overall engagement with NbS concepts. These findings collectively suggest that advancing comprehensive NbS integration in higher education may require deliberate and coordinated curricular reform across institutional levels, highlighting the importance of a whole-institution approach that systematically integrates NbS into curriculum, governance structures, and campus infrastructure.

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Journal
Journal of Cleaner Production
Published
2026-08-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2026.149303
Primary Topic
Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Global perspectives on the curricular integration of nature-based solutions in hydrology and water resources management education

Hafzullah Aksoy, Carla Ferreira, Franck Zokou Yao, Sungju Han et al.
Journal of Cleaner Production
Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education
article

Global perspectives on the curricular integration of nature-based solutions in hydrology and water resources management education

Hafzullah Aksoy, Carla Ferreira, Franck Zokou Yao, Sungju Han, Moctar Dembélé, Kristina Potočki, Chenghao Wang, Rim Ouachani, Silvia Kohnová, Ashraf M. Elmoustafa, Tanveer M. Adyel, Nejc Bezak, Mark Bryan Alivio, Dragutin Pavlović, Haifeng Jia, Ben Howard, Yonca Çavuş, Mariana Madruga de Brito, Roland Yonaba, Andrijana Todorović, Ana Ochoa‐Sánchez, Pavel Raška, Taís Maria Nunes Carvalho, Kristian Förster, Lijing Wang, Sheng Wang, Peter Ameh Adegede, Mary Bourke, Thomas Thaler, Korinna Schmitz, Gerbrand Koren, Jaeyoung Yoon, Jasmine Relf
article en

Abstract

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are strongly advocated in international environmental discourse and policy agendas for climate risk management. However, a critical knowledge gap remains regarding the extent to which NbS concepts are systematically integrated into higher education curricula, despite the role of universities as institutional settings for developing and disseminating knowledge relevant to NbS. In this study, we examined the degree of curricular integration of NbS within university study programs in water resources management (WRM) and hydrology at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels across 25 countries in 8 geographic regions. Data were collected through a structured survey, and curricula analysis was conducted, in which the proportion of NbS content within each course was categorized into Major (core focus), Moderate (partial coverage), Minor (peripheral inclusion), or NA (no explicit content). Our findings reveal significant regional and disciplinary contrasts. Countries with research-active disciplines, such as engineering and environmental science, and those with formal NbS policy frameworks, such as in the EU, show earlier or more extensive NbS curricular integration. Contrary to the interdisciplinary nature of NbS, we find that NbS are predominantly, yet sporadically, embedded in civil and environmental engineering and natural sciences, with minimal contributions from other disciplines, such as social sciences. Moreover, NbS concept remains insufficiently represented at the undergraduate level as 45.9% of the courses contain Minor content and 33.9% have no explicit NbS content, which represents a missed opportunity for NbS exposure during foundational professional study and training. More substantive NbS content appears in master's and doctoral programs, suggesting that NbS remains a specialized, research-oriented topic rather than foundational curriculum content. Faculty-led NbS teaching initiatives, identified through the survey, though encouraging, reveal a misalignment between high NbS research activity and their low curricular integration, where 31–41% of lecturers in courses with NA and Minor NbS integration do publish NbS-related research. Without explicit NbS framing in WRM and hydrology curricula, study programs may remain confined to specific disciplinary silos, potentially limiting students' overall engagement with NbS concepts. These findings collectively suggest that advancing comprehensive NbS integration in higher education may require deliberate and coordinated curricular reform across institutional levels, highlighting the importance of a whole-institution approach that systematically integrates NbS into curriculum, governance structures, and campus infrastructure.

Journal of Cleaner ProductionVol. 575
Ain Shams University (EG), Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (SK), University of Nigeria (NG), Landscape Institute (GB), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE), University of Connecticut (US), China Three Gorges University (CN), Université Nangui Abrogoua (CI), University of Potsdam (DE), University of Zagreb (HR), University of Cuenca (EC), Aarhus University (DK), Trinity College Dublin (IE), Sejong University (KR), Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences (DE), Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (CZ), University of Belgrade (RS), Geodetic Institute of Slovenia (SI), International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (BF), Institute for Sustainable Development (SI), International Water Management Institute (ZA), Universidad del Azuay (EC), National Engineering School of Tunis (TN), National Institute of Meteorology (TN), Department of Earth Sciences (RU), Imperial College London (GB), Istanbul Technical University (TR), International Water Management Institute (IWMI) (LK), Tunis El Manar University (TN), RMIT University (AU), University of Sousse (TN), Beykent University (TR), University of Oklahoma (US), BOKU University (AT), Tsinghua University (CN)
Volkswagen Foundation, Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS, Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV, Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst, U.S. Geological Survey, Erasmus+
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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